Accessible? You’re Joking!

It’s hard to depend on and survive in a system that isn’t built to cater for your physical needs. Our provisions implemented to ensure equitable access for disabled peoples have only shown themselves to be political checkmarks to acclaim the title: ‘helper of the disabled’ that in a practical sense, has little to no real world impact. It’s been quite demonstrable that this is the case with the Accessibility Bill only working to establish a committee that has no legal powers but only provides recommendations to the minister for disabilities. These will then be passed on to the House Of Representatives as a ‘measure of awareness’ and knowledge base for all the accessibility barriers facing disabled people. However, the lack of any structural measure of undeviating accountability that will address the growing accessibility problem has presented the government's processes regarding accessibility as far too opaque - shrouding them in a cloud of mystery brings the character and integrity of the proposed bill into question.

25% of the New Zealand population identify as having a disability and this has resulted in our nation statistically ranking amongst the topmost, globally, for disability prevalence within the community. As of January the 8th 2019, I became one of these individuals. Recently becoming a part of this group has opened my eyes to not only see and experience the constant marginalisation disabled peoples encounter on a daily basis, but it’s also unshielded me to the fact that as a nation nearest the forefront of the OECD, we simply aren’t making a substantive enough effort to meet the needs and cater for the justly deserved rights of the voiceless who often struggle to help themselves.

To begin with, one of the most pressing issues for wheelchair users today is the lack of frequently accessible and available public transportation. Of course, buses do exist and an increasing majority have 1 or 2 wheelchair provisions(per bus), but knowing the regularity with which buses suddenly become unavailable for certain routes and sometimes cancel their trips altogether; it’s unreasonable to expect a wheelchair user to solely trust in the highly variable mode of transport. This then brings one to the plethora of issues regarding wheelchair accessible taxis. On a short excursion down to Wellington, I unexpectedly had all 9 of my wheelchair taxi trips canceled(literally less than 12 hours before I was due to land) with the taxi agent claiming the services had all been booked out. This resulted in a taxi lottery where I rang several mobility taxis to check availability with all but 1 declining. With wheelchair taxis proving almost impossible to book, I was practically stuck in my hotel throughout most of my trip as one of NZ’s largest taxi operators(which somehow only had a handful of active mobility vans) was already stretched thin in Wellington. With largely inadequate mobility transport provisions seen not only in Auckland, but also our capital city, it wouldn’t be surprising to discover the state of mobility transport worsens throughout other parts of the nation as well.

We profess to be innovative, forward thinking and ‘kind’ but what are we showing through our blatant oversight and disregard towards physically disabled peoples? The exact opposite.

If only the dreadful dilemmas of disabled people ended there. Sincerely speaking, they simply do not. In virtually every aspect of life for a ‘normal’ walking individual that has no limiting or debilitating physical handicaps, there are challenges faced by paraplegics in wheelchairs, the elderly pushing their bulky walking frames and those using other sets of wheels to travel sidewalks within our various communities.

Currently, as a year 13 student in highschool, I’m faced with the exhilarating opportunity of choosing a future career path before applying for a university that I feel will best aid me in achieving my career aspirations. Unfortunately, the choice for me isn’t so clear cut. I hate to say it, but my career choice solely depends on the accessibility of the universities I apply to. This is not an over-dramatization of the truth or even a falsified reality - it’s unambinguously a major factor many physically impaired individuals must consider prior to choosing a tertiary institution for further education. Now, without naming and shaming certain organisations, it’s essentIal to note that terrain(particularly for wheelchairs) is a major determinant of a facility’s accessibility. Many steep slopes and rocky/uneven surfaces could easily reduce the independence of a first-year uni student who coupled with the stressful workload faced by all students, now has to effectively and simultaneously manage transport in a dangerous environment which could ultimately see the student miss their lectures and course classes or worse still, end up in hospital from a preventable wheelchair-related accident.

Section 14 of the Bill of Rights Act affirms the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form. University access is included in this right. Access to any form of education is included in this right and it is exclusively an ablist’s mentality that would intentionally barre or refuse to debarre the blockades faced by the physically impaired when considering a tertiary education.

As equal members of society, disabled individuals ought to be provided with equal opportunities across the entire education system so that we too can receive the knowledge required to contribute meaningfully towards a more forward thinking, innovative and equitable society.

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